Black Beauty

I read this lovely novel this week, many of us have read it as children but something in me prompted me to pick it up in the library last week. May be it was a distant memory of having loved reading the chapter in my schoolbook ‘The Black Beauty’.

If I could, I would have suggested it to both the ‘great’ management people as well as to philosophers as well as to any man who is in the notion of ‘my life’, ‘my business’ and pretty much ‘my anything’.

It has been some time now that I have read a novel which after a few ‘large print’ pages of reading makes me want to close the book, contemplate, apply the meaning to my life, discuss it with friends and understand it in as many ways as possible.

There was this particular piece were, the young horses which are of high spirits (not alcohol!) if not well exercised in the day are taken out for a run by the grooms later in the day. This would cool its spirits and keeps it energetic and active. I was applying this to the current life of mine, where a load of boring work is dumped on a young fresh man like me, which neither exercises my brain nor cools my spirits. It is like making a horse stand tying it to the stable, night and day and saying it is being exercised strenuously. Yes, it is a strain, but some thing that will cause stiff legs and a lazy horse(read lazy brain) that can neither run nor pull a load. This way our brains are left to rot and become lazy and then we are expected to have future vision! If we are no allowed to think of the present what future do we create or imagine? Give us good work and often a good word; and watch attrition drop. What we need is a place where our skill is of value than just our adaptability, a place where we can be master of one or two than jack of all and master of none, and most importantly a place where my driver (read boss) would appreciate me for having worked as hard as possible than for only extraordinary work. A kind poor master is better than a rich/famous and arrogant/ignorant master.

There was this other piece where, a good groom is important to the well being of a horse; similarly a good mechanic is important to the well being of a vehicle. I feel this every time I give my bike for servicing; they are bothered only about fast delivery and processing of more requests than a good work on the bike. Equally important is the owner, who can pick a good groom or a good mechanic as the case may be. I need to find a good mechanic for my black beauty…

These are some of the thoughts that flow as I read on the book. Read it and try and understand it… it’s a lovely journey of a wonderful horse…